Andy Matsko / Staff Photographer
Vito Galle, left, and Dick Lowe, both of Pottsville, look over a map of the proposed Blackwood Trail during a feasibility study meeting at the Schuylkill Conservation District on Monday, March 12, 2018.

POTTSVILLE — Curious hikers, bikers, outdoor enthusiasts and municipal leaders turned out in force Monday night during a special public meeting on the Blackwood Trail feasibility study.

About 60 people attended the meeting at the Schuylkill Conservation District office, Pottsville. The district is hoping to hear from more people and will be launching a special survey beginning Saturday.

Dave Kruel, a hiker and member of the Schuylkill County Conservancy, was among those interested.

“I use trails like this and I was curious to see what’s available to the public,” Kruel, Pottsville, said. “I think it’s good for the county to get people outdoors. It’s a nice, forested area, and I would think it would be a good setting for a trail.”

They described the proposed hiking/biking trail that is about 5 miles long. The proposed Blackwood Trail would be developed in the area of the Pottsville Youth Soccer Fields near Route 901 (Gordon Nagle Trail) in North Manheim Township and would end near Silverton Road near Llewellyn in Branch Township. The public was reminded not to access the proposed site, since most of it is currently on private property, they said.

There are four options under consideration for the trail, most of them vary on a number of factors including use of the existing rail bed, slope, current land use, easements and property owners. According to Cook, the three main property owners are Schuylkill County Municipal Authority, Seiders Hill Development and Selkirk Enterprises LLC. About 17 parcels have been identified.

Cook said some spots on the proposed trail will cross private property and easements will be needed.

The trail may be 10 feet wide, with modified and compacted gravel. It would have two foot shoulders and some fencing in critical areas where there’s a safety or security risk due to a slope or a water resource. The trail would also include a pedestrian bridge that could be either steel, concrete or aluminium, which is something similar to the pedestrian bridge at Sweet Arrow Lake County Park.

Supervisors from Branch and Reilly townships and residents from Pottsville and Orwigsburg were among those fielding questions. Some of their concerns involved the ability to keep all-terrain vehicles off the trail; if the pathway would be large enough for emergency vehicles; if there would be space for safe parking during soccer events; who would maintain the trail; how would the fencing affect wildlife; where would the railroad crossings be; and if people would be hiking the trail during times when sportsmen are hunting.

Dave McSurdy, Reedsville, said he’s hiked the trails at Landingville and Auburn and has seen how four-wheelers and ATVs have successfully been kept off those sites with special barriers. He said the Blackwood Trail is a good location.

“It’s going to be a beautiful trail around the basin of the Sharp Mountain,” McSurdy said.

Bentz read a letter of support for the trail from Patrick Caulfield, executive director of SCMA. Caulfield was scheduled to attend a funeral and was unable to attend the public meeting. SCMA has been involved in the planning process for trails in other parts of the county.

The project process is just in its early stages, Cook said. The feasibility study is anticipated to be completed by the end of 2018, according to Kline. Following the study, the process includes securing funding, engineering the trail, bidding the project and, finally, constructing the trail.

Bentz said the process will probably take about three- to four-years to complete, considering the costs of some railroad crossings can be as much as $250,000 and the cost of pedestrian bridges also as much as $250,000.

The Schuylkill Conservation District received a 50/50 matching grant from the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for the development of the study. DCNR gave $25,000 and then a matching $25,000 was generated through the Friends of Schuylkill Parks & Recreation, the Schuylkill County Conservancy and the Schuylkill River Greenway Association, Kline said.

The district wants the public to be involved in the planning process for the recreational trail and gain more opinions. A survey, which should take less than 10 minutes to complete, will be available in both print format and online from March 17 to April 17 at: www.surveymonkey.com/r/BlackwoodTrail.

Contact the writer: ; 570-628-6007

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